Too lazy to make fresh gnocchi but these vacuum sealed ones aren't bad. Browned them in some butter and placed on a little sour cream. I made a tomato sauce and added it to a mix of spice and sweet sausage cooked down in red wine.

Jason Hagen wrote:Not sure why I can't use the "Img" to link to pics on this website.

IMG_4415 copy.JPG

Jason, if I recall correctly, "Img" will only work with online images no larger than 500 x 500 pixels. Also, I assume you know this, but it only works for images on the Web, not in folders on your computer.

All I can say is excellent.....moist, tender, tasty,...I've never tasted a better ham. I made sure it was just warmed through, not hot, kept it basted and let it rest. The Greek green beans were excellent, broken down and infused with all the garlic and tomato goodness. Hasselback spuds were so crisp on the outside and buttery insides. Great meal! Now I still have about 12-1/2 pounds of ham to process for the freezer. Just got word that next door neighbor and other good friend are having issues that require some help with meals. Thank goodness, I can pass some of this lovely ham along to others.By the way, whoever told me about Prairie Pride Farms.....thank you. I have not had time to do a search for the posting, but you know who you are, and it was a great ham!

Jo Ann Henderson wrote:We did it! My mother loves tamales. Her favorite of the ones we made is the beef. Now she has a freezer full of them. I have never eaten a restaurant tamale that I like. But I do appreciate homemade tamales that I can occasionally find on the side of the road in Mexican immigrant neighborhood (most West Seattle and South Park). Ours taste like these

Couldn't agree more.

However, speaking of restaurant tamales that were actually good, when I was a kid we lived near Disneyland so got to go often, and my favorite restaurant there was the Cantina on Tom Sawyers Island because of the tamales. They had a whole different texture than conventional Mexican restaurant tamales, and were both longer and skinny than the fat pillow shapes more common in Mexican restaurants. It was only a few years ago that I read about a tamale tradition in the south, using corn meal instead of masa, that made me go "THAT'S what it was" that made the Disneyland tamales so special. They were actually authentic per the style of the Mississippi Delta Trail vs. the Sonora style of the hispanic community in Los Angeles where I lived. You might already be familiar, but you may not have seen this great website devoted to the tradition: www.deltatrailcom.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Dinner tonight: devilled beef ribs. Smoked some beef ribs on Friday for about 8 hours, till super super tender. Today I'll slather them in dijon mustard, then roll them in fresh bread crumbs and roast them until crispy. Will serve them with a finger salad of bell peppper and celery strips marinated all day with onions and garlic.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Dinner the other night, got into end-of-semester busies and failed to post: Spaghetti with butter and sage, a dish we discovered in Alba, and sugar snap peas sauteed with ginger, garlic and Asian spice.

We did Mom's Day lunch at Pearl on the River, a lovely place owned by a neighbor of ours. For supper, my wife cooked up a dish of fresh favas fried up with pancetta and sliced potatoes. Very tasty stuff!

I made chicken tikka masala, from a diet cookbook. Onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, spices, ground up in a Cuisinart. Throw it into a crockpot. Fifteen minutes this morning when I had NO TIME.

When I got home I had some fixing to do. I took out the meat and reduced the (insipid) sauce. Added spices, salt, pepper, garlic powder. I made a roux and thickened the sauce. It tasted better and better. Then I added a cup of yoghurt (according to the recipe) and a bunch of chopped cilantro (ditto) and put the meat back in. Yum!!

I have some extra long grain Basmati, pretty special stuff, and cooked that with some saffron (and a tiny touch of annato).

An autumn weekend in the country and what better lunch by the fire than a mushroom omelettemade with local organic eggs, mushrooms (field and saffron milk caps) foraged on an early morning stroll, and freshherbs from our garden.

Tonight's supper was rigatoni with green garlic, chard, Italian sausage, and favas. For dessert, I made Bellini sorbet, with fresh peaches (found some good ones in the market today) and Prosecco. The sorbet is still fairly loose and I'll be curious to see whether it hardens more overnight or not.